All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

"Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent."

Opening Statement

In 1973, the British film production company, British Lion, was on the block
and two films found themselves in limbo—Don't Look Now and The Wicker Man.
The new men in charge didn't think too highly of either title and there was a
desire to just get rid of them—create a clean slate for new productions,
so to speak. Fortunately, both films managed to survive and in fact eventually
go on to a fair degree of acclaim. Certainly, the British Film Institute thought
pretty highly of them. The BFI's list of the favourite 100 British films,
created at the turn of the millennium, placed Don't Look Now at number 8.
Perhaps more surprising is the fact that 1973's other British Lion
orphan—The Wicker Man—also made the list at number 96. Anchor
Bay has now made that film available on DVD.

Facts of the Case

A young girl mysteriously disappears and Police Sergeant Howie of the West
Highland Constabulary is sent to a remote Scottish island to investigate. A
quiet, pastoral community on the surface, Howie soon discovers that the island
is home to a society that is dedicated to pagan rituals and beliefs. After a
fruitless search for the girl whom no one on the island claims to have known,
Howie finds himself part of a procession heading for the ultimate pagan ritual
that may provide the answers he is looking for.

The Evidence

When I first received The Wicker Man DVD for review, I realized that
the title was vaguely familiar, but that was it. I seemed to have managed to
miss seeing the film or reading anything about it during the course of the
nearly 30 years that have passed since it first appeared. I should say further
that the version being reviewed here is the single-disc release of the American
theatrical version. Concurrently, Anchor Bay has also released a two-disc
special edition that also includes the original director's cut, which is some 11
minutes longer.

One goes through several different reactions as the film progresses. At
first, there's a distinctly pleasurable feeling as one watches the opening
sequences that suggest a typical British whodunit. Then pagan rituals get thrown
into the mix and you start to realize that this is not going to be your standard
whodunit. Then people start singing and dancing as part of the rituals (and not
very well, I might add) and one begins to view the proceedings with an
increasingly jaundiced eye. Things settle back onto a more even whodunit keel
for a while (especially once Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle appears) and one
again starts to feel kindly to the film, when the carpet is pulled out from
under us and one can only gasp at the film's climax. You're left wondering if
you saw something really good—"The 'Citizen Kane' of horror
films" as one magazine put it—or was it "one of the ten worst
films I've ever seen" as the new head of British Lion (the film's
production company) reacted upon viewing the original director's cut.

Well, of course, it's neither. "The 'Citizen Kane' of horror
films" is not applicable at all, because The Wicker Man isn't a
horror film, although there are horrific elements to it. A gothic mystery would
be a better description, though even that doesn't capture it fully. As for being
one of the ten worst films, well I guess the British Lion head must have led a
rather sheltered film life. For me, the test is always how much I find myself
thinking about the film afterwards, replaying sequences in my mind and turning
over the ideas and issues that the film raised. The Wicker Man passed
with flying colours and I found myself eager for a second viewing as I started
to write this review.

Now I have read elsewhere and as alluded to in the documentary on the DVD,
that many feel strongly that the longer director's cut is distinctly superior to
the American release version on this disc. I can't comment on that having only
seen the latter, but I can say that I found the American release version to be
quite satisfying. I didn't feel that there were obvious pieces of the story
missing or that the ending was in any way compromised. If the director's cut is
indeed superior, that's so much to the better.

If you're already familiar with The Wicker Man, I imagine I don't
need to say anything further to you. For others, this is a film well worth your
time. It's a real original, directed with style, and well-acted by the principal
players—Edward Woodward as Howie and Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle.
Lee was very satisfied with his work on the The Wicker Man, feeling it to
be among his best efforts on film. I haven't seen enough of his work to judge
whether that's correct or not, but he certainly is effective in his role
here.

Anchor Bay's DVD rendition is quite a satisfying concoction. Since the
original negative of the film is apparently lost (buried under the M3 highway
outside London?), previous home video incarnations of The Wicker Man have
not been exactly great-looking. "Restored from original vault
materials" (what does that mean?), this new DVD rectifies the situation
quite well. The image, which preserves the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
is anamorphically enhanced, isn't exactly pristine; it ranges from very good to
fair in quality, with many portions being very crisp and detailed with excellent
colour fidelity while others are grainy or soft-looking. Some night scenes are
particularly murky. In general, edge enhancement is not a major issue although
it is noticeable from time to time. Given what they apparently had to work with,
overall Anchor Bay has done a commendable job.

On the audio side, we have a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that adds a nice
presence to the original stereo sound track (also included). It's not
particularly aggressive and directional effects are minimal, but it adds a
certain timbre to the actors' voices and generally is an enriching factor that
enhances the impact of the story.

As part of the supplements package on the disc, a very informative 35-minute
featurette composed of interviews with a large cross-section of the filmmakers
and entitled "The Wicker Man Enigma" has been included. Among the
participants are actors Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt,
director Robin Hardy, producer Peter Snell, and writer Anthony Schaffer. We get
a very thorough appreciation for the genesis of the film, its post-production
ordeals, and the difficulties of resurrecting the original director's cut.
Supporting this piece are some reasonably comprehensive cast and crew
biographies with selected filmographies accompanying them. A theatrical trailer,
a TV spot and numerous radio spots round out the listed content. Finally,
there's an Easter egg that is fairly easily found and turns out to be an edition
of a program called "Critic's Choice, with Sterling Smith." It's a
program broadcast in the southern U.S. featuring a local film critic. The
edition presented here is one in which Christopher Lee and Robin Hardy are
featured talking about The Wicker Man. The program content is fairly
informative, although a little repetitious once you've seen the disc's
featurette. Unfortunately, the image quality is very bad.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

I don't have much to raise here. Perhaps I'll just mention that, having seen
the featurette and realizing as a result how much passion the filmmakers had for
The Wicker Man, I was surprised to find no audio commentary included with
the film. That would have seemed a natural to me, and given how strongly
Christopher Lee feels about the film, I suspect that he would have been quite
interested in doing one.

Closing Statement

The Wicker Man was a very pleasant discovery for me. It's a film that
raises, then lowers, and then raises again your expectations before hitting you
with a jolt. I'm not sure that I can think of a film that I could at all compare
it with. So, something unique perhaps. Anchor Bay has done a fine job in
showcasing the American theatrical version in this single-disc version—a
commendable transfer backed with a nice 5.1 sound mix, and accompanied by an
interesting interview featurette. Recommended.

The Verdict

The The Wicker Man is fully acquitted and is now free to be picked up
for $15.00—no great sacrifice. This court is adjourned.